November 20th (AMSP/CGTN) – – Ambassador Rahmat Allah Mohamed Osman, permanent representative of the African Union to China, shares, throuth an exclusive interview with CGTN, his insight on the importance of the African Union joining the G20.
As CGTN wanted to know fresh perspectives that the AU will want to bring to the G20, given that this year’s G20 summit will be the African Union’s debut as a permanent member, AU Ambassador Osman replied that the membership of the AU represents not only the African Union of the African continent, but it could be seen as a representation for the global south, because, he explained, the majority of the global south are in Africa.
He stressed that G20 in itself is very important, but especially in the recent times, not when it started because it was just sort of a political talk shop; but now it has a role to play, due to the complications in the global arena, especially in politics, and in economic sphere. “So, our membership in the G20 is very important for us, because the G20 is a forum that now decides on a lot of issues which are of concern to us, especially the global financial architecture, which is very important issue for us, ” AU Ambassador Osman pointed out.
“I think before talking about the Global South, let us talk about the concerns of the African union or the African continent, because if it they are solved or dealt with, it also affects the global south. In the continent we have, I mean, our economy is very poor, especially after the COVID-19 which really showed how we are vulnerable to many issues, and this is why we would like to raise our own, I mean, African issues, first of all,” Ambassador Osman pointed out.
By way of illustration, Ambassador Osman disclosed that the debt issue is a very serious problem for Africa, as the continent needs a lot of investments. “The issue of the debt always stands in our way and affects the flow of investment in the continent,” he underscored.
The G20 theme this year is about building a just world and also a sustainable planet, which is very aptly themed for Africa in particular, a continent which suffers disproportionately from climate change issues despite really only contributing a fraction to global emissions. “So, how then will the AU, now that it’s included in the G20, want to push for this just and sustainable development?,”CGTN asked AU Ambassador Osman.
“That is part of our goal when we join the G20, as you rightly said. It is estimated that the contribution of Africa in this global change is 4%, but the effect is more than that. I mean, Africa is more affected by the global change in the climate change. So, if you see the floods in Africa, this is an effect of the climate change, and even the poor economic results are part of the effect of such climate change”, he pointed out, adding that the African continent is paying a lot at a time when it is not contributing to the climate change.
“This is an unfair way of dealing with Africa. So, this is why Africa has the plan, and we have the Nairobi plan for mitigating the impact of the climate change and now in Baku we have a very solid position. And we are also expressing the position of the global south, as the commitments which were announced in Paris and in COP forums were not honored by the countries that contributed to this climate change,” he said.
amsp/cgtn-abp
CGTN